Who needs The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones? We’ve got shows about ten-way affairs, detectives with magic eyes and at least two shows that give the Ace Attorney games a run for their money. Here’s what I watched this year.

2017, despite being something of a garbage fire of a year, ended up being pretty good for anime. Between some original standouts, old franchises returning to form, and some excellent adaptations, anime is as fresh as it’s ever been, even in the face of some truly offensive offerings. As my life gets busier, I find I end up watching less than I’d like, but nonetheless, here’s my arbitrary list of awards that give me an excuse to talk about some of that anime.

In August of 2016, I bid farewell to Japan for what I thought would be a long time. I had lived there for four good years and so as you’d expect, it was an emotional leave-taking. That said, I was leaving for good reason – to expand my job horizons and my life experiences by…